How Marketers Can Break the Cycle of Groundhog Day

No one will ever forget how well Bill Murray portrayed the frustration of repeating the same routine day after day. “Groundhog Day” may have debuted in theaters in 1993, but many marketers feel the same frustration today in their own professions.

Weatherman Phil reporting on whether Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow in a repeated Groundhog Day can feel a lot like performing the same marketing routines over and over.

Here are a few suggestions to break out of the rut:

‘Same Silo, Different Day’

ShopperMarketing says it’s time for marketers to break out of silos like e-commerce has, because “the industry is at a turning point. The sales and marketing activities that for decades have been treated as two separate functions must align,” reads the article from June 2017.

It’s difficult to believe that the author, Peter Breen, would have to explain his reasoning when marketers have known for decades to streamline the process. But he explains that the “established, institutionalized habits are incredibly hard to break.” But they must.

Why? Because e-commerce eliminates any gap that ever existed between consumer and shopper, the gap between the onset of a consumer need and the completion of a purchase designed to fill that need. While the traditional purchase funnel is still there in theory, a consumer can now get from start to finish in a few seconds and a couple of clicks.

Avoid Repeating Groundhog Day and Use Other Holidays

It’s just one idea and one example, but marketers can come up with ways to vary their routines using a template like the one from SnapApp on Feb. 2, 2015.

Try “International Ask A Question Day” or “Pi Day” on March 14th. Depending on your brand and your audience, one or the other (or both!) could resonate with your audience. Tying into holidays like these gives you a reason to reach out to your database and build brand connections.